Stoker-driving mechanism



May 7, 1929. R s, RILEY 1,712,401

STOKER DRIVING ME CHANI SM Filed April 22, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet l May 7, 1929. R. s. RILEY sToKER DRIVING MECHANISM Filed April 22, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. Raaf/er 14N/0,90 zfy BY v ma aw ATTO NEYS May 7, 1929. l R. s. RILEY 1,712,401

STOKER DRIVING MEGHANI SM Filed April 22, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. Raaf/Pr JAN/wao lP/fy Patented Mayv 7, 1929.

UNITED vSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT SANFORD RILEY, F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 RILEY lSTOKER CORPORATION, 0F WORCESTER;` MASSACHUSETTS, A CWBPORATIOEl".01?v

MASSACHUSETTS.

Applicationfiled April 22,

rlhis -invention relates to mechanlc'al stokers of the underfeed type and particularly to improved driving mechanism for certain parts thereof. In such stokers provision has been heretofore made for movable l ash discharge or dumping plates at the rear of the Stoker, such plates being given an oscillating or yreciprocating movement` through connections with the movable retort side walls or with other movable fuel-engaging parts of the Stoker.

lt is at times desirable to operate certain of the Stoker elements independently of other parts and to be able to stop the movement of selected parts for a desired period.

Accordingly, it is the general object of my invention to provide improved ymechanism for moving the ash discharge or dumping plates, by which mechanism they may be driven or stopped independently of all other parts of the Stoker and by which they may preferably be operated at different selected speeds. This mechanism permits the oper ator tofcontrol the ash discharge at will, allowing the ash to accumulate if the bed of ashes is too thin and removing the asheswith greater or less rapidity when further accumulation is not desired.

llt will be further understood that the high temperatures encountered in modern furnace practice render it essential that a suiicient layer of ashes remain on' the discharge plates and other metal parts of thestoker to protectthem from the heat of the furnace. rllhis may be more easily accomplished with my improved arrangement of driving mecha- DlSm. i f

Twp forms of my invention are shown in the drawings, in which Fig. 1v is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a Stoker embodying one form of my in vention, with the walls and certain internal parts shown in section; u

Fig.f2 is a/ perspective view of certain of theash discharge plates and parts of the actuating mechanism therefor;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the Stoker, showing the driving connections for the discharge plate mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view taken along the line 4.-4 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a second form of my invent1on;

Fig. Gis a plan view of certain ash dis STOKER-DRIVING MECHANISiM. 5

1922. Serial'No. 556,015.

powenshaft 14 (Fig. 3) 4is indicated asextending transversely below the floor F and as being connected by sprocket-s 15 and 16 and a chain 17 to a driving shaft 18 in the gear box 13.

The driving connections between the shaft 18 and the crank shaft 12 form no part of my present invention and vfor a further description thereof, reference is made to the.

prior application of Irving A. Taylor, Patent No. 1,486,311, issued March l1, 1924. For the purpose of this application, it is sufficient to state that the handle 20 at the front -of the gear' box permits the operator to connect the crank shaft 12 with the driving shaft 18 for rotation thereof at either of two dierent speeds.

The Stoker further comprises the usual retort side walls 21 (Fig. 1) supporting tuyre blocks 22 and preferably havlng over feed grates 23 associated therewith at the rear end. of the retort. These side walls and overfeed rates are commonly provided with suitable riving connections to thef crank shaft 12 so that they may beregularly reciprocated during the operation of the coal feeding mechanism. These connections in` clude bars 80 (Figs. 1 and 5) extending forward and supporting rods 81 slidable in transverse openings in a cross pin 82 movable with the ram or plunger 83. A lost motion connection is thus provided by which reduced sliding movement may be given to the side walls. Byreducing the lost motion, the movement of the side walls may be increased.

Ash discharge or dumping plates 24 are mounted at the rear of the overfeed grates 23. These plates 24 are pivotedjat their front ends to bars 25 mounted to slide in the supporting framework of the Stoker below the overfeed grates 23. The plates 24 are commonly of curved outline, with their under surfaceshsupported on rolls 26 at the rear ends of rack bars 27 also slidably supported in the Stoker frame and engaged by pinons 28 on a cross shaft 29. i The shaft 29 maybe connected by a gear 3() (Fig. 3),

pinion 31, sprocket wheel 32, and chain 33 to a sprocket wheel 34 provided with a hand wheel 35 by which the rack bars may be adjusted forward or rearward.

lo The slide bars 25 (Figs. 1 and 2) have pin and slot connections with arms 36 secured to a pair of cross shafts 37 and 38, the slide bars being connected alternately to different shafts. Segmentl gears 39 (Fig. 3) connect the shafts 37 and 3 8 and the shaft 37 is also provided with an arm 40 pivotally connected to a link 41.

A headed rod 42 is vsecured to the front end of the link 41 and extends through a sleeve 43 mounted on a crank shaft 44. The

crank shaft is preferably independently driven from the power shaft 14 in some convenient manner, as by a sprocket wheel 45,`

chain 46, sprocket wheel 47 and driving -1 shaft 48 which may be connected to the crank shaft 44 through speed changing gear mechanism of the type described in the above mentioned Taylor application, the change gear mechanism being controlled by a handle `50.

As the crank shaft 44 rotates, the sleeve 43 alternately. engages the end of the link 41 and the head of the rod 42, thus inter- 'mittently moving the shafts 37 and 38 alternately in opposite directions. The extent In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 I have shown a different v.form of driving mechanism. In f these figures the ash discharge plates 60 are wprovided lwith grate openings 61 to which 'fair isfsupplied through the trunnions or and connected by ,bearings of the plates from an air chamber 62. This chamber is connected by a passage 63 tothe main wind trunk 64 of the Stoker, thegair pressure in the chamber 62 being .controlled by a d-amper 65.

Slide bars 66 are "provided for the plates 66, and` alternate slide bars are provided with rack teeth on their adjacent sides enL p' aging segment .gears 67` loosely mounted tween the adjacent bars. Arms 68 on the gears67 are piivotally connected to a bar 69 mounted to s de transversely of the retorts alink'ltoacrankarm 71 secured topa worm gear 72.

The gear 72 may be driven in any convenient manner as by a worm 73 on a shaft 74 connected by a sprocket wheel 75, and chain 7 6 to a sprocket wheel, not shown, at the front of the Stoker where it may be mounted on a driven shaft corres onding to the crank shaft 44 in Fig. 3, an similarly driven through a gear box if desired. i As the worm wheel 72 is rotated by the means indicated or by any other suitable driving connections, the' bar 69 will be reciprocated and the slide bars 66 will be alternately moved in opposite directions by the segment gears 67. It should be noted that the gears 67 have no xed centers but are moved bodily forward 'and rearward a short distance in addition to their angular movements as the bar 69 is reciprocated.

With the arrangement of mechanism shown in either form of my invention, it will be evident that the ash discharge plates at the rear of the stoker may be regularly oscillated or reciprocated entirely independently of the retortside walls and other parts of the stoker associated with the fuel greater fiexibility in the operation of the Stoker, and as previously stated, permits the operator to control his fire to much greater advantage. The accumulation of ash or refuse at the rear of the furnace may be held at any desired point, regardless of the rate of feed of the fuel or the rate of movement yof the retort walls or overfeed grates.

Having thus described two forms of my invention, it will be evident that other l changes and modifications can be made withinthe spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the claims and I do not wish to be otherwise limited to the details herein disclosed but what I claim is 1. A Stoker having, in combination, a rctort, means to feed'fuel thereto, movable ash discharge plates mounted at the rear of said retort, and separately controlled actuating devices for said fuel feeding means and said discharge plates, said devices being driven rom a common source of power.

2. Astoker comprising fuel feeding and distributing devices, ash discharge devices,

actuating means for said feeding and distributing devices, 'driving means for periodically moving said ash discharge devices,-

and controlling devices by which said actuating means and said driving means may be separately started and stopped.

3. A Stoker having, in combination, a rctort, a plurality of ash discharge lates ,mov-

bly'mounted at the rear threo actuatin means effective to feed vand distribute fue in said retort, and separately( controlled driving means for said ash discharge plates, said driving means includingA devices for cllianging the speed of operation of said p a Cal Vt. A stoker comprising fuel feeding and distributing devices, ash discharge devices, actuating means for said feeding and distributing devices, driving means for periodically moving said ash discharge devices, and controlling devices by which said actuw ating means and said driving means may be separately which the speed of operation may be varied.

5. A stoker having, in combination, a retort, `a plurality of ash discharge plates movably mounted at the rear thereof, actuating means effective to feed and distribute fuel in said retort, driving means for said discharge plates, and separate controlling devices for said actuating means and said driving means, said controlling devices including speed changing gear mechanisms by which different rates of movements may be attained.

6. A stoker having, in combination, a retort, a plurality of ash discharge plates movably mounted at the rear thereof, actuating means effective to feed and distribute fuel in said retort, and driving means for said ash discharge plates, controlling means separate from said actuating means, said driv ing means including devices for changing both the relative frequency of movement and the extent of movement of said plates.

7. A Stoker having in combination, a retort, a plurality of ash discharge plates movably mounted at the rear thereof, actuating means effective to feed and distribute fuel in said retort, driving means for said discharge plates, said actuating means and said driving means having a common source of power, said actuating means for the feeding and distributing of fuel being separately controlled from the drivingmeans for said discharge plates.

8. In a Stoker, fuel feeding mechanism, a plurality of movable ash discharge plates 5 sliding bars to which said plates are connected respectively, a pair of shafts, one of said shafts having a. driving connection with started and stopped, and by alternate sliding bars and the other of said shafts having a driving connection with the intermediate of said sliding bars, coacting gears mounted on said shafts for simultaneous movement in opposite directions and means to move said gears, said means and said mechanism-being separately controlled.

9. A Stoker having, in combination, a retort, means to feed fuel thereto, movable ash discharge plates mounted at the rear of said retort., actuating devices for said fuel feeding means and said discharge plates having a common source of power and independent controls.

I 10. A stoker having in combination. a retort with movable side walls, movable ash discharge plates at the. rear of said retort` mechanism for moving said side walls and mechanism for moving said discharge plates, common power means for said mechanism and a separate. control for each mechanism.

1l. In a Stoker, fuel feeding mechanism, a plurality of movable ash discharge plates. sliding bars to which said plates are connected respectively, a pair of shafts` driving connections from alternate of said bars to one of said shafts, driving connections from the intermediate of said bars to the other of said shafts, coacting gea-rs mounted on said shaft for simultaneous movement in opposite directions, common power driven means to move said gears and said fuel feeding mechanism and independent controls for said means and said mechanism.

l2. In a stoker, in combination, movable fuel feeding and distributing devices, a plurality of movable ash discharge plates. slide bars to which said plates are connected, and driving means for said slide bars, said driving means being controlled independently o f said movable devices and being connected to oppositely reciprocate adjacent slide bars.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

ROBERT SANFORD RILEY.

Cil 

